At the IOA World Council Meeting held in Frankfurt, Germany, in November, 2010, a new IOA constitution was adopted. This new constitution recognized three independent Regions (the Asia South Pacific Ostomy Association … ASPOA, the European Ostomy Association … EOA, and the Ostomy Association of the Americas … OAA) and changed IOA's governance. It did away with a World Council which was made up of delegates from all of IOA's member countries and created an IOA Coordination Committee. This IOA CC is comprised of two representatives from each of the Regions. The work of the IOA CC consists of addressing issues and activities that are common to the Regions and as such are global in scope.

The current members of the IOA CC are:

From the ASPOA … Dr. Harikesh Buch from India and Richard McNair from New Zealand

From the EOA … Anne Demick from Northern Ireland and Ria Smeijers from The Netherlands

I am honored to have been selected by the IOA CC members to serve as its Chairperson. Ria Smeijers continues serving as its Treasurer and Anne Demick will serve as its Secretary.

As this is my first Chairperson's message, I wish to acknowledge the dedication and commitment to the cause of ostomy rehabilitation demonstrated by my predecessor, Barry Maughan.

From November, 2010 through December 2016 Barry served as the Chairperson of the IOA CC. In this capacity he acted as "The Voice of IOA" by interacting most effectively as liaison with other professional bodies like the Colorectal Surgeons' Association, World Council of Enterostomal Therapists, and the Lions International for Stoma Care initiatives. He also enhanced organizational partnerships with the manufacturers and distributors of ostomy prosthetic equipment.

During this period Barry has worked selflessly to improve the quality of life of ostomy/CD patients, not only in his home country of New Zealand but also in many developing countries of Asia, Africa and the Middle East. He has voluntarily given of his time, talents and experience to advocate for the rights of those who have undergone, or will undergo ostomy surgery.

Based on the belief was that the strength of IOA lay in the work it undertook Barry exhibited a zeal for projects and could be counted upon to assist in making relevant projects a reality. By using the IOA Visitor Training Program and ISCAP presentations, he was part of the team that successfully established stoma support clubs in the Chinese cities of Beijing, Nanjing, Hangzhou and Guangzhou from 2009 to 2012.

It should be no surprise that at the ASPOA Regional Conference this past March held in Seoul, Korea, Barry was the recipient of IOA's highest leadership honor, the Archie Vinitsky Award. Thank you Barry Maughan, you have served us well!

Ostomy Association of the Americas (OAA)

Of the three IOA Regions, the OAA Region is unique in that it is comprised of 2 sub-regions. In South America we have the Asociacion Latino Americana de Ostomizados (ALADO) sub-region, with the North and Central America and Caribbean Ostomy Association (NCACOA) as the second sub-region.

The OAA Regional Conference that was held in Bogota, Colombia, 20th - 23rd October, 2016 was hosted by the Asociacion Colombiana de Ostomizados (ACDO) with Mariela Acero de Romero serving as the event planner and Conference Chairperson. It was a most successful event. 97 people including 45 nurses were in attendance The Dr. Harikesh Buch Professional Services Award for outstanding service to the ostomy community was presented to Dr. Fernando Soria, Medical Surgeon, Cordoba, Argentina.

The OAA Officers that were elected by the delegates are:

President, Mayor Jorge Vargas Morales from Mexico;

Vice President, Francisco Miguez Martinez from Argentina;

Secretary, Martha Velez De Nieves from Puerto Rico;

Treasurer, Kenneth (Ken) W. Aukett from the United States.

Delegates to the IOA CC are Jorge Morales and Ken Aukett.

The ALADO Officers that were elected by the delegates are:

President, Jessica Cardenas Rosas from Chile;

Vice President, Izaac Fernandes from Brazil;

Treasurer, Francisco Miguez Martinez;

Secretary, Teresa Antequera from Bolivia;

Outgoing President, Mariela Acero de Romero from Colombia

The member countries of ALADO include Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Chile and Paraguay.

The newly elected NCACOA Officers at UOAA's Conference in Irvine California this past August are:

President, Marcellino Gonzalez from Mexico;

President Elect, Susan Burns from the United States;

Vice President, Janet Paquet from Canada;

Treasurer, George F. Salamy from the United States

The member countries of NCACOA include Canada, Netherlands Antilles – Curacao, Honduras, Mexico, Puerto Rico and the United States

IOA was represented at the XXV Latin American Congress of Coloproctology held in Asuncion, Paraguay this past August by Dr. Harikesh Bush from India. Dr. Buch reports: "We had a fantastic meeting of Colo-Proctology surgeons from Spanish speaking countries of Central and South America. Congress programming included International Stoma Care Training. There were more than 500 delegates who were in attendance. Some experts in the field were invited from Japan, India, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, North America, Lithuania and Mexico. I met surgeons, nurses and ostomates from all the countries of South America, Mexico, Guatemala and Puerto Rico. Lectures and presentations were given on various topics of Colo-rectal surgery and stoma care. There was a practical training session on Ostomy care where small groups of participants were formed and an expert in each group provided tips and demonstrations on caring for an ostomy patient. Simultaneous translations between Spanish and English were also provided through head phones. The attendees were well cared for with the provision of sightseeing tours of the city and surrounding interesting local places. A tour was arranged of Iguazu water falls in Brazil with a visit to a Hydro electric plant."

After the Paraguay meeting Dr. Buch went to Toronto, Canada to meet with Di Bracken (Past President of IOA) and her family as well as old friends Gene Zapf (Ex IOA Treasurer) and Louise Forrest Lalande (Past president WCET). A cordial and fruitful luncheon meeting was arranged by Di where Dr. Buch met with members of Friends of Ostomates Worldwide-Canada (FOW-C) and some of the ostomates from the Toronto Ostomy Chapter of the Ostomy Canada Society. It was decided that FOW-Canada will send ostomy appliances to Paraguay. In attend¬ance were some young dynamic ostomates who possessed a vision for the future and dedication for improving the quality of life of ostomates around the world. A few of them can speak not only English but also Spanish which will help their work in OAA Region. They are interested in working to revitalize the 20/40 Program

In September, from the 11th to the 16th, Professor Carlo Pezcoller from Modena, Italy, and Professor Ricardo Fretes from Asuncion, Paraguay, the current President of the Colo-Proctology Society of South America, organized a medical training program in Modena for 14 surgeons from South America and some Spanish speaking countries of Central America (Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay, Venezuela and Mexico) . The airfare for these surgeons was sponsored by the Colo- Proctology Society of South America and local hospitality was arranged by the "Lions For Stoma Care" (LFSC) organization supported by 10 local Lions clubs of the Modena and Lion District 108 Tb, Italy. Dr. Harikesh Buch from India was invited by Professor Carlo Pezcoller to serve as an International faculty member from Asia. Other faculty members included local surgeons, ETs and some ostomates (Ms Clara Salazar and President of FAIS Ms Marina Perrota) from Italy.

The curriculum included extensive training on stoma care. Topics included anatomy and physiology of the GI tract and urinary system, indication for stoma surgery, stoma marking and how to construct proper stoma, possible stoma complications and how to deal with them, psycho social issues, sexuality, pre and post-op counseling, discharge planning, stoma appliances and stoma accessories and how to select a stoma management system for a particular patient and use them properly, irrigation theory and practical demonstration, how to establish a new ostomy group and its funding arrangement, OAA and IOA and their role in stoma care, WCET and local ostomy care training for nurses. A practical demonstration of stoma care was given by local ETs in their hospital stoma clinic. All the lectures and presentation were recorded on CDs and given to the attendees for their use in local training of nurses.

On the last day of training all the surgeons discussed the concerns of their countries and how to overcome them. Also discussed was how to train more nurses in their respective countries based on their new acquired understanding of stoma care and how to use the teaching material they received at the completion of the program. Professor Carlo Pezcoller , Dr. Harikesh Buch and Clara Salazar gave them suggestions on how to overcome local problems.

Every evening there was a local sightseeing tour to interesting places that was arranged by local Lions including a visit to a Balsamic Vinegar museum, a Ferrari car museum, a Parmesan Cheese production facility, a medical devise factory and on the last day, a visit to the historical city of Verona. They had also arranged a fine dinner every night at a different Italian restaurant providing different Italian specialties. They had arranged on the last day a gala dinner with local Lions Clubs that support the LFSC program. All attendees received a certificate of participation in this LFSC training program which were presented by the local Lions dignitaries.

Asia South Pacific Ostomy Association (ASPOA)
The 3rd ASPOA Regional Conference that was held in Seoul, Korea, 29 March – 2 April, 2017 was a joint event organized by the Korean Society of Coloproctology, the Asia Pacific Federation of Coloproctology, the Eurasian Colorectal Technologies Association, the Asian Society of Stoma Rehabilitation and the Asia South Pacific Ostomy Association. It was a most successful event with 15 countries represented.

During the conference part of the House of Delegates, which was a day all of its own, a training session was held covering the tasks of the President, the Secretary and the Treasurer as it was felt that too many people got put into these jobs with no formal training and in many cases were out of their depth. Also covered was the 20/40 Program and Nurse training in Asia with all attending countries given the opportunity to present their own country report.

Mr. Barry Maughan received a well deserved Archie Vinitsky Award and on returning to his home in New Zealand learned that he was awarded one of New Zealand's highest awards, that of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to health.

The Dr. Harikesh Buch Professional Services Award for outstanding service to the ostomy community was presented to Mr. Pang Chak Hau, ET Nurse, Hong Kong
The Linda Aukett Award for service to young ostomates was presented to Mr. Satoshi Kakimoto, Japan

The ASPOA Officers that were elected by the delegates are:

President, Richard McNair, from New Zealand;

Vice President, Dr. Harikesh Buch from India;

Secretary, Ronaldo Lora, from the Philippines;

Treasurer, Shiv Raj Kapur, from Singapore;

and the 5th Member, Bonggyu Jeon, from South Korea

Delegates elected to the IOA CC are Richard McNair and Dr. Harikesh Buch.

The next ASPOA Regional Conference will be held in Delhi, India in November, 2020.

European Ostomy Association
The EOA Regional Congress that was held in Taastrup (outside of Copenhagen), Denmark, 5 - 8 October, 2017 was hosted by Stomiforeningen COPA, the Danish Ostomy Association, with Henning Granslev serving as organizer. Programming was a joint effort between COPA and the EOA Executive. Outgoing EOA President Ria Smeijers describes the event as "a very nice, well organized Congress."

Ria further commented, "It is always great to meet so many people from all parts of Europe and the Middle East, but this time it was very special." EOA invited the President of Kenya Ostomy World, Mr. Devgun and Mr. Platel (as replacement of Sally Agallo). We also invited Lizzy and Linda Moyo from Zimbabwe and the President of the new born Association in Nigeria, Maria Okonji." "It was so nice to meet them all in Denmark and to bring them together. I'm sure this will be the start of a new Region in Africa." "Carlo Pezcoller promised also to go to Zimbabwe to start a course for surgeons and nurses."

"The EOA House of Delegates elected Jon Thorkelsson, President of the Ostomy Association of Iceland as its new President. Previously Jon served six years as the EOA Treasurer. The other new EOA Executive Committee members are Henning Gransley, Chair of COPA; Marie Steen, Swedish ILCO; Maria Hass, Deutsche ILCO; and, Isabella Grosu, Romanian Ostomy Association."

"Kes Klare, the EOA Webmaster, finished his work for EOA. The new Webmaster is Elzbieta Lezinska of POL-ILKO, Poland. She presented a new EOA website at the Denmark Congress. By the end of October the e-mail addresses connected to ostomyeurope.org will be moved to the newly elected President and the appointed Webmaster."

General Comments:
1. World Ostomy Day … 6 October 2018
As the Asia South Pacific Ostomy Association is responsible for coordinating this event, I am pleased advise that the ASPOA President, Richard McNair will be Chairing this event for IOA. The WOD theme will be:

Richard is working with Coloplast to firm up other details.

2. WCET Congress:
The World Council of Enterostomal Therapists (WCET) will hold its 22nd Biennial Congress in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 14 to 18 April 2018. Congress details can be found on the WCET website … www.wcet2018.com I plan to be in attendance and look forward to greeting many of you there.